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Vending machine shames candy buyers with tweets

Ever since Twitter’s sharp rise in popularity, one group or another has worked to tie it in with point-of-sale purchases. There have been Twitter-enhanced vending machines in the past (like Oreo’s at this year’s SXSW and a Hot Wheel’s version last year), but never one quite like this.

A UK company called Nottingham Hackspace is actually sending a tweet any time one of its employees buys something to eat. Some might even go so far as to call it “tweet shaming” in those cases where candy buyers venture outside the bounds of healthiness.

It’s a bit complicated if you’re not good with wires, screw drivers and other mechanical sundries, but Readwrite.com explains it:

Using Arduino, they've modified the cash payment system with a little reader onto which members tap their cards. The cards have a little RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip that wirelessly transmits who they are and how much money is on their card to the vending machine.

And there’s also a Computerphile video that shows exactly how it works:

What, exactly is the endgame here? Employees who never eat candy, perhaps? We’re not sure, but it is a pretty cool little gadget.